Helping Hand

As she held Martin's hand in hers, Allison tapped her foot on the apparel shop's wooden floor. She'd just come to the shop to get Martin fitted for some new clothes, since he'd already grown out of some of his old ones – he was growing faster than she could keep pace with, almost.

The problem was that they'd been waiting in line for ten minutes, and the young girl that had preceded them still hadn't come out. Allison had half a mind to knock on the fitting room's door. But just before Allison could make the attempt, the young girl's raven-haired head poked out of said door.

"Um…" said the young girl, as she looked at the growing line to the fitting room. Then the girl looked straight up at Allison.

Allison's eyebrow twitched. "I'm sure whatever you've been trying out looks fine on you, honey."

The girl stepped out nervously, revealing that she'd changed out of her plain clothes into a bright red dress. Allison pouted – sure enough, it looked fine on the girl. And she told the girl as much.

"I see," said the girl, in a thick accent Allison couldn't place. Then she disappeared back in, presumably to change back and attempt the purchase. Allison sighed. It was about time, too.

Shortly after, the girl had scampered out in a plainer gray dress, and Allison had fitted Martin's new pants for him. Once she'd settled on a few pairs for Martin, Allison lined up at the counter. But before Allison could complete her purchase, she felt someone tug at the hem of her white sundress.

Allison turned to see the short-haired girl from earlier. "Uh…hi, Miss. I'm new in this city – where is the Giacomo Hotel?" said the girl, as she looked around nervously. "I'm not good at directions, but I need to meet my brother there."

"The Giacomo? Oh, yeah, that's not far from here." In fact, it was on the way back to the house – which gave Allison an idea. "Just wait and follow me. I can show you where it is."

"Mom, can we go home now?" said an annoyed-looking Martin, who had been staring off into space. "I still need to do my homework."

Allison resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing full well that Martin hated homework. He'd just said that because he hated clothes shopping more. "Just a minute, Martin. We're going to show our new friend here the way to the hotel." Then she glanced over to the girl. "And your name is?"

"…Irene." The girl blushed, then looked away.

"But Mom, won't that take too long? I have to do my homework!"

Wonderful – he was getting testy. "It's just around the corner, Martin. Besides, we can't just abandon someone in need, right?" said Allison. "Now, come on. Let's show Irene over here where to go."

Martin shot an angry glance at Irene – but upon seeing her, his eyes went wide and his face flushed red. "I – oh," he said, his voice dropping a pitch. "Okay, Mom." Allison shut her eyes. So Martin was a boy, after all.

The trio stepped outside to a sunny day – by Allison's watch, it was early afternoon. They walked in silence, with Martin stealing a few glances at their admittedly pretty new companion. Then, halfway between the store and the hotel, Martin squawked and looked directly at Irene. "I think you're really pretty!" he said, before looking away quickly.

Allison stopped in place and snapped. "Martin!"

"Sorry, Mom!" he said, as he blushed an even deeper shade of red. "I…"

"Martin, there's a nice way to tell a girl that she's pretty, but that isn't it." Allison wagged her finger, then looked at Irene – who had blushed a similar shade, and was trying to look anywhere but directly at Martin. "In fact, some girls get scared when you say it like that!"

"I…uh…" Martin stammered for a few seconds, then looked at Irene. "…I'm sorry, Miss Irene."

Allison sighed. Sometimes, being a parent was hard, wasn't it? Fortunately for her, the rest of the walk wasn't nearly as awkward.

Once the trio arrived at the Giacomo – a humble inn built of red brick half a century ago – Allison stopped, then gestured to Irene. "Here it is," she said. "I hope you've been paying attention, despite the whole…thing earlier."

Martin stammered. "Again, I'm really sorry!"

But before Irene could respond, the doors swung open, and a handsome, broad-shouldered young man with raven hair and features to match Irene's own stepped out and gave Irene a withering glare. He said a few pointed words to Irene in a language that Allison couldn't place, then looked directly at Allison – prompting her to blush.

"Very sorry about this, madam. Thank you for finding my younger sister," he said, in an accent identical to Irene's own. "I am Milo Calligaris."

Martin piped up. "Milo Calligaris the wyvern rider?" he said, his voice full of genuine joy for the first time that day. "The Milo Calligaris? Oh, wow! I never thought I'd meet a real wyvern rider in person!"

Allison stepped back. She'd been helping a wyvern rider's younger sister this entire time? She'd given up on watching the derbies years ago, but Martin had been enamored with them since day one – and once one got him talking about wyverns, one would never hear the end of it.

In a moment, Martin was flooding Milo with countless questions on wyvern care and breeding. Milo just smiled a pained smile, then stopped Martin. "Wait, wait, wait. I'd love to hear your questions, but first I must talk to your mother."

Then he looked straight at Allison, prompting her heart to skip a beat. "Again, thank you for finding my sister," he said, as his expression turned into a burdened smile. "Can I repay you in some way?"

Allison batted her eyes. "The wyvern races are in three days, right?" she said, as she tapped her chin. "If we talked some more over a drink or two before then, that would be reward enough for me."

Milo nodded. "Very well. Just phone my room – hold on, let me write it down for you."

With a knowing smile, Allison clicked her teeth. Whoever said good deeds never went rewarded?